100m Hurdles

JOHANNESBURG - A pair of local athletes - St. Mary's Jessi Palmer and Johannesburg-Lewiston's John Sewell - made First Team-All Ski Valley Conference in multiple events Monday at the Ski Valley Championships at J-L. Palmer won both the 100m hurdles (17.33) and 300m hurdles (49.86) while Sewell took both the 1600m run (4:46.60) and the 800m run (2:07.89). Palmer also took second in the long jump (15-0) while Sewell was second in the 3200m run (11:06.68). J-L senior Amanda Boersema placed second in three events, including the 100m hurdles (17.63)

SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN — Johannesburg-Lewiston junior Meridith DeLuca and sophomore Abby Schlicher and Gaylord senior Jenna Zaborowski all placed at the State Track and Field Finals Saturday, earning them All-State distinction. At the Division 4 Finals in Jenison, DeLuca took fifth place in the mile run, with a time of 5:24. Schlicher also earned fifth in the high jump, with a leap of 5-1. At the Division 2 Finals at Houseman Field in Grand Rapids, Zaborowski placed eighth in the 100m hurdles with a time of 16.48.

TRAVERSE CITY ? Only Traverse City Central could best Gaylord in the 2008 Big North Conference girls track championships Wednesday at Traverse City West Junior High. Battling intense weather conditions, the Blue Devils slipped past third-place Traverse City West by 0.5 points. Gaylord scored firsts in both the 400m and 800m dashes. The 400m team was Carlye Scheer, Brittney Deerfield, Amanda Keichline and Taylor Hazlett, while the 800m team was Scheer, Deerfield, Keichline and Savannah Hypio.

FAIRVIEW - Johannesburg-Lewiston junior John Sewell broke the school record in both the 1600M and 800M runs on the way to a pair of firsts Tuesday at the 12-team Fairview Invitational. Sewell blistered through the 1600M with a time of 4:39.21 and the 800M with a time of 2:06.46. As a team, the J-L boys finished sixth. The Cardinals' girls also took sixth, as senior Amanda Boersema won a trio of events - the 100M dash, 200M dash and 100M hurdles. Mio won the boys meet while Fairview took the girls meet.

JOHANNESBURG ? It would be hard to argue against Johannesburg-Lewiston as the top Division IV girls track team in Northern Michigan. The Cardinals have sprinted past the competition in every meet this season, with the latest victim being six other teams at Wednesday?s J-L Invitational. With 250 points, the Cardinals more than doubled the competition. Pellston?s 109 points were good for second, but the Hornets might have well been miles away. J-L, who absolutely dominated the running events, had 10 first-place finishes on the day. Once again, the Cardinals won all four relay events.

FAIRVIEW ? It didn?t take St. Mary senior Jessi Palmer long to prove herself during the Division 4 track regionals at Fairview High Saturday. Palmer popped a career-best jump of 16 feet-6.25 inches in the first try, leaving little doubt as to who would win. ?She really put the field in their place after that jump,? said St. Mary coach Dick Goepp. It capped another solid day for Palmer, who also qualified in the 300m hurdles with a second-place finish of 49.15. If there was any disappointment it may have been in the 100m hurdles, where Palmer breezed through the qualifying and semifinal rounds with the top time.

INDIAN RIVER - The St. Mary girls placed second at a tri-meet Thursday at Inland Lakes. The host Bulldogs won the meet, followed by the Snowbirds and Mancelona. Taking first for St. Mary was junior Jessi Palmer in the long jump, 100M hurdles and 300M low hurdles, Megan Kippe in the pole vault, Jennifer Wummel in the 100M dash and the 400M relay of Palmer, Kippe, Wummel and Carly Forcier. The St. Mary boys took third as Inland Lakes won. Jim Purgiel was first in the 400M dash, as was Jack Wisniewski in the 800M dash.

JOHANNESBURG ??If class standing is an indicator, the Johannesburg-Lewiston girls track team could be at just the beginning of a long reign atop Ski Valley Conference. Coach Kevin Kennedy added nine solid freshmen to this year?s team and it paid dividends in the standings. The Cardinals won the Ski Valley South by outscoring their four opponents combined with 174 total points. Bellaire finished second with 62.5 points, while Central Lake was third (52), Mancelona was fourth (43)

GAYLORD ??It was another highly-successful season for the Gaylord High track and field program. The girls were just points shy of winning a regional championship and the boys and girls teams sent 15 athletes to the state finals. The team held its annual banquet recently, with Shayna Rudel and Aaron Knopp receiving MVP awards. Rudel was a solid sprinter during her entire career and is a double school record holder and state qualifier. Knopp finished 11th in the state in the 800m run, which he also set the school record in. Jake Graham and Savannah Kassuba were named Most Improved.

INDIAN RIVER - Two new school records lifted the St. Mary girls track team to a second place finish in the Ski Valley North Championship meet at Inland Lakes Monday. Junior Jessi Palmer long jumped 16-foot-3 and 3/4 inches to surpass the previous high mark of 16-2, while senior Jessica Wummel set a new shot put record (32-11) to shatter the old mark by more than a foot. Palmer made it a trio of first place finishes with firsts in the 100-meter hurdles and the 300m hurdles.

SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN — Johannesburg-Lewiston junior Meridith DeLuca and sophomore Abby Schlicher and Gaylord senior Jenna Zaborowski all placed at the State Track and Field Finals Saturday, earning them All-State distinction. At the Division 4 Finals in Jenison, DeLuca took fifth place in the mile run, with a time of 5:24. Schlicher also earned fifth in the high jump, with a leap of 5-1. At the Division 2 Finals at Houseman Field in Grand Rapids, Zaborowski placed eighth in the 100m hurdles with a time of 16.48.

MANCELONA — It’s been an impressive run of success for the Johannesburg-Lewiston girls track and field team — one that reached four years when the Cardinals captured their fourth-straight Ski Valley Conference championship last week in Mancelona. J-L easily won with a total of 175 points. Next closest was Inland Lakes, who checked in with 107 points. Impressive depth is what got the job done for the Cardinals. J-L had just one individual winner — Meridith DeLuca in the mile run (5:43)

CENTRAL LAKE — The Johannesburg-Lewiston girls track team has had many victories during this historic season. None were bigger than Saturday, where the Cardinals edged powerhouse Harbor Springs to win the Division 4 Regional at Central Lake. It was the first time in school history the Cardinals have ever won a girls’ regional. J-L’s 138 points bested the Rams by just 4.5 points, as the Cardinals pushed forward a slew of individuals and relays onto the State Finals, June 4 at Jenison High School.

CENTRAL LAKE — The records just keep on falling for the Johannesburg-Lewiston girls track team. The Cardinals won another invitational Monday, finishing first among 20 teams at the Central Lake Invitational. For J-L, four school records were broke on a perfect day. The J-L 3200m relay of Allison DeLuca, Kisha Kucharek, Nadine Peterson and Meridith DeLuca broke a 17-year-old school record with a time of 10:39.79. They broke the 1993 mark previously held by Jessica Paulson, Missy Hausbeck, Raija Nordstrom and Stacy Sklarczyk.

FAIRVIEW — This is looking like a historical track season for the Johannesburg-Lewiston girls. The Cardinals have won six out of seven meets after locking up the 13-team Fairview Invitational Tuesday. Just as impressive was that another couple records came off the board on J-L’s all-time list. Senior Stephanie Fisher broke Annette Wiggins 31-year-old long jump record with a leap of 16-2, while sophomore Meridith DeLuca broke exchange student Antonia Schutt’s 1998 800m record with a time of 2:33.

WEST BRANCH — The Gaylord girls track and field team had a huge performance Friday at the Ogemaw Heights Invitational, placing second in the big-school division. “This meet was a huge turning point for our girls, coming away with some big bests,” said coach Jeff Kalember. Gaylord, who was without its full squad, had a great day from a number of sources. Jenna Zaborowski again continued to score big points, winning the 300m hurdles (49.90) and taking second in the 100m hurdles.

CADILLAC — The Gaylord girls track team scored a nice victory Tuesday, defeating Cadillac 85-66 in a Big North Conference dual meet. Jenna Zaborowski was the leading scorer for the Blue Devils with 12 points. She won the 100m hurdles (16.78) and 300m hurdles (54.50), while running on the winning 800m relay. Other big scorers for Gaylord was Blair Secord, who won the shot put (33-10.5) and took second in discus; Amanda Olds, who won the 400m dash (1:06.68) and was on two winning relays; Allison Fischer, who was first in discus (99-4.

INDIAN RIVER — Johannesburg-Lewiston competed in its first big track invitational of the year Wednesday at Inland Lakes. The J-L girls emerged second among the 10-team field, trailing just mighty St. Ignace. The Cardinals’ highest finish came in the 3200m relay, where the group of Allison DeLuca, Nadine Peterson, Kisha Kucharek and Meridith DeLuca took second. Merridith DeLuca also took second in the 800m run for the Cardinals. Taking third place for J-L was Jessie Owens in the 100m hurdles, Allison DeLuca in the 3200m run, Amanda Head in the high jump, Rebekah Lawrence in the long jump and the 1600m relay team of Head, Owens, Stephanie Fisher and Allison Burley.

JOHANNESBURG — Johannesburg-Lewiston opened up the track and field season by hosting a tri-meet with St. Mary and Mancelona Tuesday. The J-L girls won the meet easily, topping second-place Mancelona by 87 points. The Ironmen edged J-L in the boys meet, 80.5-57.5. The Snowbirds placed third in both meets. In the girls’ meet, J-L’s DeLuca sisters — Allison and Meridith — had a huge day. Allison won the 1600m run and 3200m run while Meridith won the 400m dash and 800m run. Senior Jessie Owens was also a double-winner, winning the 300m hurdles and long jump.

JOHANNESBURG — Johannesburg-Lewiston opened up the track and field season by hosting a tri-meet with St. Mary and Mancelona Tuesday. The J-L girls won the meet easily, topping second-place Mancelona by 87 points. The Ironmen edged J-L in the boys meet, 80.5-57.5. The Snowbirds placed third in both meets. In the girls’ meet, J-L’s DeLuca sisters — Allison and Meridith — had a huge day. Allison won the 1600m run and 3200m run while Meridith won the 400m dash and 800m run. Senior Jessie Owens was also a double-winner, winning the 300m hurdles and long jump.